Invisible Protector, Naru Uzumaki
by Babyuknowme13
Summary: Sorry guys, but this has been adopted by Echo Uchiha. I just can't deal with this fic anymore. I'm sorry for all my faithful readers, but it had to be done.
1. Chapter 1

LC; Behold mortals! A work of the Gods has graced you with her presence!  
The cast of Naruto; All hail the authoress! Goddess of all that is cool and awesome and kick ass!  
LC; You love me, you really love me!  
Disclaimer; I no own Naru-chan! *Cries into pillow*  
Naru-chan; there there, maybe someday. When Kishimoto dies of a mysterious accident.  
LC; *Picks up phone and dials number for Blood Mist village* Hello? I need someone to assinate Kishimoto.  
Blood Mist Kage; No prob, I'll send someone to get rid of the old bastard free of charge! So long as when you own Naruto you kill off ALL the Akatsuki!  
LC; Deal! They try to hurt Naru-chan, I rip them to tiny bite size pieces! Yay for bad guy death!  
Naru-chan; Now that thats taken care of, I'm going to go and become even more awesome!  
LC;...That's possible? Of course it is, it's Naruto! YAY AWESOMENESS!

Chappie 1, Buh-bye!

Naru's POV

I was sixteen, the day I was banished from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I got the news when Tsunade-Baa-chan called me to her office.  
"Yo, Baa-chan!" I called when the door opened. Inside were all the council members, that cripple, Danzo, and Tsunade and Pervy-sage.  
Tsunade's desk had countless sake bottles littering it, and she looked like she wanted more, needed more. "Naru, I'm so sorry, but..." She couldn't go on, her throat was too tight but she didn't want to cry in front of the council, or Danzo for that matter. So Danzo took up the responsibility of dishing out his 'justice'.  
"Naru Uzumaki, for using the Kyubi's chakra and endangering the Leaf Village, you are given two choices." He snarled menacingly. "One, to join ROOT and be trained by me. Or two, refuse and be banished from the Leaf Village!"  
He was counting on Naru's love for her village so she would choose option one, but she wasn't the number one most unpredictable ninja for nothing.  
"I pick, option number two." I said simply, her expression blanker than any ROOT's. "I know full well what happens to people who join ROOT."  
Danzo spluttered in an attempt to make a come back.

As calmly as I could, I walked to Tsunade's desk and took off the necklace she had given me four years ago. "Here, I'm afraid I won't be able to become Hokage. I'll keep the head band if you don't mind though, it has sentamental value."  
As I spoke, I untied the head band given to me by Iruka-sensei and made a slash through the symbol using a kunai.  
"See ya around, Baa-chan." I waved to her before walking back out the door.

At the Leaf Gates, all of my friends came to see me off. Hinata and Sakura were crying, Sasuke looked almost heart broken. We'd been pretty close after I brought him back from the Valley of the End.  
He was currently letting Sakura cry into his shoulder. Kiba was holding Hinata and Akamaru(Who was as big as a bear) was hanging his head and moaning pitifully.  
"Don't look for trouble." Neji sighed sadly.  
"I usually don't have to." I countered, trying to sound upbeat. "It literally comes looking for me."

It has been four years since that day, today is the anaversary. My golden hair that before was unruly has straightened out, it also has a red tinge to it, most likely a mix of my parent's hair.  
It also now hangs to the tips of my thighs when I leave it down. Though for a ninja, and a missing-nin at that, loose hair is often a hindrance. I normally keep it in a high pony tail.  
As for my wardrobe, I now wear a kunoichi's kimono. Which, in actuality, is a kimono that reaches midway down my thighs. It is black with a red obi, it also had a red kanji on my chest above the heart, the kanji for fox.  
Over this, I wear a dark blue coat that slightly resembles Tsunade's. I use it to hide numerous scrolls and weapons up my sleeves and in the many pockets I sew into it.  
I've also sewn storage seals into key areas of the jacket, making the number of weapons held, well over a thousand.  
Apart from my eyes being purple, and being permanantly slitted, the only thing changed about my personal appearance is the whiskers have gotten darker, more noticable. I also have fangs. I've stopped hiding them under the genjutsu.

One month after my banishment, I was captured by Akatsuki, but instead of stealing the fox, they trained me for two years. At that time, they began talking about taking Kyu and I made my escape.  
Afterwards though, I was greatly weakened. Orochimaru, having been cheated out of Sasuke, came after me. At first, he wanted to kill me, but then I did something that surprised him greatly.  
I activated my gekki genkai.  
Turns out, my mother came from a clan that was rumored to have one of the most powerful Gekki Genkais in the world. This bloodline trait, came out as golden chakra wings.  
He captured me, wanting to learn the secrets of this jutsu. I stayed with him for a year, and only that long because I wanted to learn about my ancestry. That is when I lrevealed my father was the fourth Hokage and my mother Kushina Uzumaki.  
I took with me many scrolls filled with jutsus.

For the past year, I've been making money catching missing-nin, partly for money, partly to test my skills. I can happily say my jutsu library has increased significantly.  
Not only do I learn the common jutsu from scrolls and various ninja who agree to teach me, I learn from the demon within me.  
I have managed to look into his own mind as he looks through mine.  
As such, I see he knows countless jutsu, and I have made it my goal to master as many as possible. I will also say, that the happy-go-lucky blonde everyone once knew, has long since died. I am what remains, I am the new, Kyubi no Yoko.

Opening my eyes to the morning, I sighed and sat up in the motel futon I had slept in. Yawning, I got up and went to the bathroom for a shower. Taking off the yukata, I slipped into the running water and washed the grime from my skin. It was nice to take a warm shower now and again, as I didn't usually get a chance to access one.  
Stepping out, I placed on my usual wear and left the motel, leaving the money on the futon.  
I left via window, knowing some ninja were in the lobby. It was possible they were merely getting a room for the night, but I did not wish to take any chances.  
For some reason, their chakra signatures felt slightly familiar.  
Shaking it off, I continued on my way to my home.

It was a small farm, mainly growing herbs that my husband used for healing. He was a physician, and though he wasn't a med-nin, he helped to heal many serious wounds of mine.  
As I came into sight of the garden, my two year old son began running to me on unsteady legs.  
His name is Somma, he has black hair, and blue eyes. He is pale, like his father. He is also Orochimaru's son, born of rape.  
I picked him up as he reached me and spun around a few times.  
"Hello Somma, were you a good boy for Outo-san?" I asked, looking towards my husband who was stretching his back. "Good to see your home again, Kisune." He walked to me and we embraced and kissed shortly.  
"Good to come home." I replied sweetly. I admit, when it comes to Sora, I do tend to relax and put away my cold mask.

Sora is tall, he has flaming red hair, and his eyes are a beautiful green. We went inside and I cooked up a meal for us, Somma was happy to be given a new toy I had brought back with me.  
As we ate, I untied my head band from around my neck. Here, I wasn't the missing-nin Naru Uzumaki, here, I was Kisune Yoki Chizun.  
"Somma said his first word this morning." Sora announced proudly. "Go on, show Ouka-san what you can do!" Somma looked up from the toy boat and began yelling out mama.  
I swept him up, much to his pleasure and declared my son a genius. "Just you wait, your gonna be a genius to rival all geniuses!"  
Sora laughed deeply and my own bell like laugh joined his, Somma's cute giggle cutting in as well.

I took Somma upstairs for a nap and to get a little alone time with Sora-kun. I sat with him on the couch and we talked about what had gone on.  
Just when we were about to have a little fun though, I sensed the same chakra signatures from before right outside.  
"Sora, go upstairs and get Somma." I whispered.  
He realised the situation immediatly and ran up the steps to our son's room, while I went outside to confront whoever it was.  
Imagine my surprise when I found my old team outside.  
It's a good thing I had grabbed my head band before running outside.

"Leaf shinobi?" I growled curiously. "Why on Earth would you humble my little abode?"  
"Nice to see you too, Naru." Kakashi greeted, somewhat serious.

Sora chose now to walk out the door, holding a sleepy eyed Somma in his arms. "What do I owe the pleasure, Hatake?" I asked coldly, tieing the head band around my neck.  
"We're here to speak with you, do you have a minute or two to spare?" Sasuke asked.  
I looked over the team, Kakashi hadn't changed, at all. Sasuke had grown, I could also see he now wore a ring around his finger. Sakura wore a similar ring, she had grown as well, she seemed even stronger than before. There was also a new face, he was even paler than Orochimaru, and he had a creepy fake smile on his lips.  
Sora had used the time to walk up behind me and I turned to him, not all the way, not wanting to show my back to prospective enemy.  
"Don't worry Sora, these are, old friends of mine, from my Leaf village days." I said calmly, and somewhat hesitantly.

Now we all sat in the living room. Kakashi and the team sitting on the couch, me, Sora, and Somma on the love seat, directly oposite.  
"So, what did you want to speak about?" I asked, taking Somma from Sora at the same time.  
"I'll cut straight to the chase, the fourth shinobi war is about to break out, and we need your help." Kakashi said in all seriousness. "We've heard of your exploits, and Tsunade gave us this mission. Our mission is to offer you whatever you want, if you'll come and help the Leaf village in it's time of need."  
Somma rubbed the sleep from his eyes and squirmed, wanting to get down. "Mama!" He squalled when I wouldn't let him down.  
Sakura caught that alright. "Did he just call you mama?"  
Great, now I have to explain, again. "Somma is my son." I said simply. "Sora here is my husband."  
They all just blinked at this bit of info, even the newbie looked stunned.

That is when I felt another chakra signature, one that caused my blood to boil. Orochimaru was here. "Sora, take Somma and hide." I whispered urgently.  
He took Somma who began to cry, but I had to go out and draw that snake away from my family.  
Kakashi and the others followed me outside, and we saw Orochimaru exiting the line of trees. "Why, hello Naru-chan, tell me, how's little Somma-kun?"  
"You bastard!" I cursed. "You stay the Hell away from my son, Oro-chan!"  
He scowled at the accursed nickname, but didn't fall for the bait. "What, don't fathers get visiting rights?" He asked. "After all, he's not just your son."  
"Naru, what does he mean, when he says father?" Kakashi asked.  
"The guys a frickin rapist, need I say more?" I snapped angrily.

Suddenly Sora's screams and Somma's wail could be heard from inside the house. "Sora!" I cried, turning to run back in to him.  
Suddenly Orochimaru's lapdog, Kabuto came out, carrying an unconious Sora and squalling Somma. "Kabuto, I swear, if you so much as harm a single hair on his head, I won't kill you, I'll massacre you!"  
Kyu could sense my emotions and started sending me chakra, just enough to make Kabuto freeze momentarily. Long enough for me to pull out a three-pronged kunai and used Hirashin to appear behind him and knock him out.  
I caught Somma and Sora and laid them gently on the ground.  
Pulling out another kunai, I slit Kabuto's throat. "Sorry, but I had to put down your lapdog, Oro-chan." I crooned sickeningly.  
He growled and began making handsigns for a summoning.  
I bit my thumb as well and made the signs for my own, personal summons.  
At the exact same moment, we both yelled. "Summoning Jutsu!"

When the smoke cleared, Orochimaru and I were both standing on the heads of our summons. His of course, was the giant snake, Manda, while mine...was the Kyubi no Kitsune himself!  
I had devised a way to summon the fox from his seal, so that he could fight with me. Somma screamed in fear and I gave him a hug to assure him all was alright. Sora was still unconcious, but he seemed to not be to badly hurt.  
Glimpsing downward, I saw my old team still standing in shock. "Hey, if you don't get your asses in gear, your gonna get squashed!" I yelled to them.  
Luckily for them they heeded my warning, because Manda and Kyubi weren't waiting any longer. They charged, and so began a battle to end all battles.

Both of the Summons had been dismissed, and now it was just me and Oro-chan. We were both breathing hard, beginning to run low on chakra.  
"You won't get away this time, Orochimaru!" I roared, creating a rasenshuriken in both hands. "Today you die!"  
I threw them one after another, but when the second one managed to sever his upper and lower bodies, a bunch of snakes reconnected them. "You've improved, Naru-chan." He commented. "I'll see you again, try not to kill Somma."  
He melted into the ground in the damned irritating way he did to escape.  
In all this time, I'd forgotten about Sora and Somma.

Turning around, I saw Sakura healing Sora of his wounds and the mystery boy was being tormented by Somma. Somma was pulling at his face, pinching him mercilessly.  
After silently praising my son, I walked over to the group. Sora's eyes opened and he saw me, immediatly he was standing up and hugging me in relief that I was alright. "Are you alright? Your not hurt are you?"  
"Sora, don't worry so much." I scolded him gently, returning the hug. "I was only fighting one of the greatest ninja in the world."  
He sighed and held me out at arm's reach to inspect me for wounds.  
Kakashi cleared his throat, loudly.

"Well, I don't suppose you have an answer yet?" He asked uncomfortably, having rescued the newb from my son and now having his mask pulled at.  
As curious as I was to see Kakashi's true face, I took Somma off his hands anyway. "I didn't exactly get any time to think about it." I admitted shamelessly. "But since I don't really hold a grudge against the Leaf, I'll let you guys stay here the night and tell you what I've decided in the morning."  
The Sun was beginning to set, the fight had lasted six hours. They agreed to stay, and I went inside to begin cooking for seven, a big task, but doable.  
As we ate, we began a routine, ask and answer session. "So, how long have you been married?" Sakura asked.  
"A year." I answered curtly.  
"Is Orocimaru really Somma's father through rape?" The new guy, Sai, asked.  
"Do you really think I would willingly sleep with that Fruitcake?" I asked, a pair of chopsticks half way to my mouth. "He was worried about my clan really dying out and the next thing I know, he'd torn off all my clothes."  
That memory was not one I liked to revisit. Neither would you if you had seen a naked Orochimaru. "The only upside was Somma." I added quietly, more to myself than them.

That night, I kept Somma in the same room as Sora and I, not wanting to take any risks. There was something off about that Sai guy.  
The next morning, I was fully rested and ready with my answer when they staggered down the steps like this was a C-rank mission. "Glad to see your up." I said, leaning against the kitchen door way.  
"Ah, Naru, do you have an answer?" Kakashi asked cheerfully.  
I turned away and sighed tiredly. "Somehow, I just know this is going to be a mistake." Turning to look him in the eye, I said. "But if the Leaf agrees to let me bring Sora and Somma, then I'll go."  
He seemed relieved by that, I could see him visibly relaxing, as though he'd been expecting a fight. "Tell me something, Hatake, what would happen if the Leaf village found out about Somma's father?"  
He couldn't answer for a long time, and I studied him carefully. "Maybe someday, like they began accepting you after a time."  
But unlike me, Somma wouldn't grow up without parents if I had any say in the matter.

Four days later, I was standing with Somma on my hip, in front of the village gates. "How nastalgic." I muttered. Sora put a comforting hand on my shoulder and I shot him a grateful look.  
"Well, it's about time the Leaf knew Naru Uzumaki Chizun was back in town." I smirked.  
Sora personally, was glad not to have to pretend I was Kisune, but that didn't change the fact we were married. We walked through the gates, people stopped and stared at me like I was some ghost come back from the dead. I attempted to ignore them, until they began bowing to me, right there in the streets. "Okay I was going to ignore it, but this is a bit much." I said, eye twitching begining.  
"Your reputation for catching and delivering missing-nin to our gates has helped your reputation spread." Sakura revealed. And admittedly, I had done that when I heard the village was in financial trouble. "A lot of people see you as their invisible protector, even though presecuted, you helped to protect the village!"

By the time we'd reached the Hokage tower, I was more than ready for people to stop bowing and scraping to me. And then to top it off, the ANBU guards opened the doors for me.  
"Alright, that's it, this is too much! What the Hell I do to make everyone treat me like a princess!" I demanded, annoyed that so many people were treating me like some Damyo's daughter.  
"They also heard about how you killed off an entire team of ANBU in less than two seconds." Kakashi said, scratching the back of his head. "Your considered a SSS-rank missing-nin who is still loyal to the Leaf. Not to mention there are a lot of rumors going around about your parentage."  
I hung my head in embarrassment, as that was the most likely reason for them acting this way.

We got to Tsunade's office, to find all of the Leaf 12 had all gathered. When Tsunade saw me, she jumped up and with speed surprising even me, tackled me in a bone crushing bear hug of doom.  
"Naru! Your back!" She cried happily, while I was beginning to turn blue.  
I pushed her off and she looked me over, checking to see how much I'd changed. "Yeah, I'm back."

"Care to explain what I'll be doing while I'm here? And where my little family will be staying?" I asked curtly, trying to look unruffled.

"Certainly." Tsunade said, sitting back down at her desk. "We've heard of your skill, and the council made a desicion in our favor, they want you to come back as a shinobi and help us. When the war is over, you'll be given full shinobi status back, as well as everything that rightfully belongs to you."  
She was under the impression I would be staying, now I had to set her straight.

"Tsunade, I'll be helping in this war, but I will not rejoin the shinobi ranks." I said, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "If anything, I'll be quitting as any kind of shinobi. I've been meaning to retire for some time."  
Everyone gasped, but Somma was having more fun pulling on my hair for me to notice. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm holding my two year old son. I would kind of enjoy being around to raise him. Being a shinobi is too dangerous to garuntee that."

\\\\\\\\\\pagey breaky\\\\\\\\\\\  
LC; Naru is cruel!  
Naru-chan; No I'm not!  
LC; yes u r! Your cruel and selfish for not joining with the Leaf village again because of Orochimaru's baby!  
Orochimaru; By the way, I meant to give you a request, at the end, can I have custody of Somma?  
Naru-chan; I'll never give a pedophile my baby! Believe it!  
LC; I make the desicions, and since u were a bad snakey, no baby for lunch for you!  
Orochimaru; AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! But babies are yummy nummy!  
LC; review review for chappie that's new!


	2. the war begins

LC; OOOOOOOOOOKAY! Before we go, we'll let you know!  
Naru; Why must you rhyme every time?  
Sora; You did so as well, can't you tell?  
LC; YES! The rhyme curse has begun to verse!  
Naru; Make this curse go away!  
Sora; We don't want to rhyme all day!  
LC; Sadly I can not, not for the tea, not for the pot!  
Disclaimer; I do not own Mother Goose...or Naruto, as of yet. My plan is still in stage one.

Chapter 2, Episode 2! Woop 'd' doo!

"A shinobi's life is too dangerous to garuntee that." I finished coldly, not taking my eyes off Tsunade. Kiba had fainted, as had Hinata, Akamaru's jaw broke through the floor, Lee's eyebrows had nearly flown off his head, Neji looked like he wanted to go bald, he was pulling out his hair, Tenten was rocking back and forth on the ground.  
Ino looked like someone had told her she was fat. Chouji had actually dropped his bag of chips. Shikamaru had the strangest reaction, he started looking out the window nervously, probably looking to see if the sky was still where it should be.  
Tsunade looked like she'd been tricked into going sober for a year.  
Jaraiya, who was sitting on the window sill, had falled off of said window sill and was laying some twenty feet below, twitching.

When no one seemed to recover, I took matters into my own hands. "What?" I asked them, ignoring Somma's giggles as Neji's hair really did start to fall out.  
"Kit, I told you they were all nuts." Kyu muttered under his breath.  
'Yeah, I see your point.' I thought. 'Lots of ninja retire when they have kids. What's so strange about me?'  
"The fact your under a genjutsu that hides the fact your a half demon?" He suggested. He did have a good point there actually.

"Your going to retire?" Tsunade repeated, heartbroken. "Are you going to just become a citizen then?" Oh, she was still on the idea of me staying in the Leaf.  
"Sorry grandma." I said slowly, sadly. "But, things change. Three years ago, I'd have given anything to come back. Now, I can hardly stand being here at all. I'll stay for the war, no longer."  
Sora put a hand to my shoulder and steered me out, thankfully, I was worried I'd start crying if I had to look and see her expression.

"Are you sure you can do this?" We were standing on team seven's bridge, the place we used to meet as genin. "Sora, I grew up without ever meeting my parents." I told him. "I want Somma to know who his mother and father is. I want him to be able to hear us say we love him."  
He embraced us both, and later, we went to my old apartment to spend the long night in each other's presence/bed.  
Sora knew the reason I still trained, why I worked my ass off, why I fought. It was because, I am more demon than human now, and Somma is half demon as well.

The next morning, I left Somma with Sora and went for a nice long walk. As I did so, yet more people bowed to me, more men stared at me shamelessly now I was without husband or son, and many women glared enviously.  
The fact I was still wearing my head band around my neck with it's slash must have deterred them from approaching me though.

Before I knew where I was going, I found myself in front of Ichiraku's ramen shop. "How nastalgic." I muttered once more, wondering how many more times I would do it.  
Ayame walked out of the flap with one of the delivery bags. "Dear, I'm going on a delivery!" She called back inside. She saw me and gasped. "N-Naru?"  
Out of the shop came none other than Iruka. "Did you say something Ayame?" He stopped when he saw me. "Naru?"  
"Hey Iruka-sensei, Ayame-chan." I said jokingly, as if I had never left.

Without warning, I again had to struggle to breathe as both of them hugged the life out of me. "Air." I gasped weakly. "Need...air!"  
When they let me go, I was certain my face was as purple as my eyes. "Geez, why is everyone doing that?" I choked out.  
"I can't believe your back!" Iruka cried happily, tears in his eyes.  
"Come on Iruka, no tears." I pleaded. The water works had always been slightly annoying, especially when it was a man using them.  
We sat down to catch up over some ramen, at which time, their two kids came from behind the shop. "Mom, Dad, who's she?" The two year old girl asked sweetly.  
"This is an old family friend, Tsuki." Ayame answered, picking her daughter up. The four year old boy walked up next. "Dad, she has a scratch on her head band. You said only bad ninja had scratches."

I left some time after that, ready to go home and see my own child. Once there, I found Sora entertaining all of my friends from my Leaf days. "One time, some ninjas attacked us at home, late at night." Oh Kami, he wasn't going to tell them that was he? "Well, she rushed out there and beat them fairly quickly." Oh no! "I had been watching from our bedroom window, and that's when we realized, the reason the ninja hadn't put up a fight," Kami no! "Was because she had rushed out without any clothes!"  
My old friends began laughing at my stupidity, saying something along the lines of, we knew she'd do it someday!  
"Okay party's over!" I growled, letting lose enough KI to make Orochimaru drop a friend down his pants.

Everyone slowly turned to the open doorway, I could smell their fear. Over the years, my KI had changed from a threat, to a promise.  
"Leave." I ordered idly. They all nodded, and if I hadn't grabbed him by the ear before he left, Sora would have joined them. "Where are you going?" I asked him.  
"Ehehe, nowhere." He chuckled nervously.  
I chuckled and reeled in the KI, much to his relief.

After a quick shower, I took Somma and went to team seven's training grounds. "Alright Somma, watch mama train now, ok?" I crooned to my son.  
"Mama!" He replied happily, obviously proud of himself. "Mama twain!"  
"Yes, mama trains!" I told him, setting him down in the shade of a nearby tree. I gave him a ball to play with and walked to one of the training stumps.  
Cracking my knuckles, I released the genjutsu around both me and Somma, revealing our matching fox ears and tails. I then began to punch through the stumps until they were nothing but splinters on the ground.  
"Company calling Kit." Kyu yawned tiredly, he'd been growing weaker lately.

Turning around, I saw Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten crooning to Somma about his cute ears and tail. "I think I missed something." I muttered. "Oh, well, after you left, master Tsunade told everyone about your ears and tail." Sakura informed me kindly. "But, we didn't know your son would have them too!"  
"Uh huh." I said, making a mental note to 'talk' to grandma later. "Your here why?"  
"It's been ages since we dragged you shopping!" Ino cried. Crap, I knew today was going to be a bad day.  
"I don't need anything." I told them, picking up Somma, much to their chagrin. "Nor do I intend to waste money on things I don't need."  
I had to deal with them for another entire hour before they got the picture and left me alone on top of the monuments. Well, to be honest I kinda used Hiraishin to get away, but it's the same principle.

"Mama!" Somma crooned, pulling the still showing ear. "Mama!" I chuckled and pulled on his own ear. "Yep, I'm mama, your Somma. Say Somma? So-ma?" He tilted his head to one side, as if trying to wrap his head around the new challenge.  
"Sthoma?" He tried.  
"Good enough." I sighed to him, looking over the village I hadn't set foot in for four years.

When we went back home, many more people bowed to me, and it was seriously getting annoying. Finally I stopped in the middle of the street and looked over the many people inclining their heads at me.  
"Alright, I think I get it already." I said. "Stop bowing and scraping to me already!"  
Of course, none of them listened to me. I gave up and just went back home. "Sora, remind me to kill the next guy who bows to me." I muttered to my husband.

The next day, every ninja in the Leaf was called to an important meeting, where Tsunade would reveal certain things about me that had been kept on a need to know basis for twenty years.  
"What I'm about to indulge to you all is a twenty year old SSS-ranked secret." Tsunade announced, wearing her formal Hokage robes. "That secret, is the parentage of Naru Uzumaki!"  
My return had been the favorite topic for gossip, but no one expected this. "As all of you should know, Naru has been called back to the Leaf village because we are on the brink of another shinobi war. What you don't know, is who she really is."  
She definetly had everyone's attention now. I was standing in the shadows, waiting for her to call me up.

"Naru's full name, is Naru Uzumaki-Namikaze!" Tsunade dropped the bomb. Really, it's amazing no one ever put two and two together. Hello, I'm a female clone of the old man! "She is the daughter of Kushina Uzumaki, and Minato Namikaze! She is also the jinchuriki for the Nine Tailed Fox, and as of right now, a mercenary hired by the Leaf village!"  
Oh yeah, the mercenary bit caught their full attention. To my utter surprise, it was Ebisu who spoke up. "Why hasn't she been reinstated? After all, we all know the charged put against her four years ago were false! And she has remained lyal to the Leaf despite this!"  
Tsunade nodded in my direction so I took my place at the podium. "Let me make one thing clear, I am no longer a Leaf kunoichi!" I announced to them all. "I have not been reinstated because I do not intend to stay here after the war! I am merely helping out to repay a debt, is that clear!"

An uproar filled the room after I finished my announcement. Near the back, I could make out Konohamaru wearing a chunin vest. He didn't seem surprised, but he did look a bit depressed.  
"But why?" Many of them asked. "What happened to giving your all for the Leaf? To becoming Hokage?" Many demanded.  
I took a deep breath before answering them. "I recall doing many things for this village. I gave my all when I could. But now, I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated than that!" I snapped. "As for becoming Hokage, I think that's something I can die without doing!"  
I left the meeting shortly after while everyone else talked about tactics and plans for battle, it wouldn't be long till we set out.

One week later...

I looked over the huge field with everyone else. There wasn't much room to take cover, and since my squad contained mostly chunin, this would most likely be a difficult battle for them.  
With a mighty roar, our enemy was upon us and we had to fight. I brought out many of my personalized kunai and began to take down ninja after ninja using Hiraishin.  
The battle lasted five minutes, and not a single man was lost on our side. "Alright, let's send word back to the main force." I ordered them.

The next day, we went up against a lot of Iwa nins. I remembered the 'flee on sight' order they had put for my dad, and decided to have a little fun.  
"Boys, why don't you just hang back and watch the show." I suggested to my squad. "I'll be right back."  
I stood in front of the enemy nins as they looked me up and down. "The Leaf village must be desperate if they can only send one ninja here to stop us." One guy commented.  
"Nah, I just told my squad I'd take care of you." I told them, whipping out my kunai. "Tell me, do you recognize these kunai?" Many of the older nins paled considerably at the sight of them, but they stood strong, pity, they might've lived longer if they'd run away.

When I was finished, I decided to go and see what my squad was doing. I turned around to see them gaping at me like they'd never seen someone of the female species before.  
"Something wrong?" I asked them, a little ticked off at the stares.  
"You killed all of them, without breaking a sweat." One of them said unbelievingly. I turned back around and found about a hundred dead ninja on the ground.  
"What?" I asked them again. "You act like you've never heard of the Hiraishin before."

For many more days, we fought battles, and for many more days, I lived with the absolute boredom of it all. At least being a missing nin, I could go where I liked and didn't listen to anybody.  
If I wanted to go and destroy some buildings in Sound, I went and blew them up. Now, I just fought pointless battles that only left me with a bruise at most.  
"This is boring." I complained. "When am I going to fight someone who's actually a challenge?"  
"Sooner rather than later." A voice drawled. Recognizing the laziness, I turned to adress Shikamaru. "It seems the Kages of the three warring nations are coming into battle. Iwa's kage, Sound's kage, and Grass' kage, are all coming."  
Most people would have paled and started writing out their wills, I on the other hand, grinned my signature foxy grin.  
"Sounds like fun." I giggled.  
Before leaving the room, I noticed Shikamaru shudder involuntarily.

For the next two days, I fought more and more battles. When I finished with one, I would dash off to help out with another. I became a sort of symbol. When our allies saw me come out, they fought all the harder as our enemies tried hopelessly to escape. I never left survivors.  
And then, came the day the Tsuchikage came into battle. We faced eachother, an entire field apart. "I've heard rumors that that blasted Minato Namikaze had a daughter hidden away somewhere." He told me. He was aged, older than Old Man had been. "And now your making your big dabue in this war as the Crimson Flash, is that right?"  
"Crimson Flash?" I repeated. "So that's what their calling me."  
"So it's true then?" I nodded my confirmation. Without any warning, I threw several kunai and vanished from the spot, before he even registered I wasn't there anymore, I was behind him with a kunai at his neck. "How simple it would be, to just flick my wrist." I crooned into his ear.

"Who don't you do it then?" It was so obvious I could cry, he was only playing for time while someone snuck up on me or caused a distraction for him.  
"Maybe I will." I said, slashing my wrist and cutting through his neck like paper. He gasped and turned into a log. "Substitution eh?" I called to the surrounding area. "Hoping to get the drop on me?"  
I felt cold steal press against the back of my throat. "Maybe I am." He replied.  
"That's good, I was afraid you'd turn tail and run." I said calmly, a smile playing on my lips.  
"Don't you fear death?" He asked. It was a reasonable question, seeing as how she hadn't even tensed up, her voice was perfectly level, and she didn't even shudder when he pressed the kunai to her throat.  
"Slit my throat, find out." I urged him quietly.

He did so, without hesitation, have to give him credit for eagerness I suppose.

Imagine everyone's surprise, when it healed almost instantly, before I was even able to lose a pint of blood? Yeah, it made me wish for a camera.  
Turning to the stunned and close to panicking kage, I smirked. "It's a little harder to kill me then that." I informed him politely. "W-what are you?" He demanded panickingly.  
"I am Naru Uzumaki, and no one else." I said slowly, with utmost clarity. "And you, are my prey."

Darting forward with a sudden burst of speed, I hiraishinned behind him and slit his throat easily. My chakra was depleted, so when I saw it was a substitution, I was slightly worried.  
"Come out, come out, wherever you are old man!" She called playfully, not letting her fatigue show.  
Without any warning, the ground beneath her gave way and she fell down to the depths of the Earth.  
Upon crashing to the ground, she heard the sound of a cave falling in and looked up to see her window of oppurtunity beggining to close.  
With a feral growl, she pushed herself up using her chakra as a spring board until she flew out of the hole and into the light.

Story PAUSE!

LC; Wow, I have to say, this has taken me forever to do.  
Naruto; Certainly not your best work either.  
Sasuke; Could use some editing.  
LC; Well that's why I have a beta.  
Naruto; So, you planning on finishing the next chapter within the year?  
LC; With any luck and if enough reviews get in for this new chappie! 


	3. Coming home

LC; Yo peoples of the planet!  
Naruto; Yo, decided to get off your lazy butt?  
LC; Nope! But I have decided to waste my weekend on the computer as always!  
Sasuke; Aren't girls your age supposed to be going to parties and all that?  
LC; Hey, I've been known to denounce expectations before!  
Sasuke; Just do your little story already.  
LC; Geez, PMS much?  
Sasuke; What? *Uses famous Uchiha death glare*  
LC; Ehehehe, I said, uh,...Oh Hell, we both know what I said!  
Sasuke; CHIDORI!  
LC; AAAAAAAHHH!  
Disclaimer; If they were mine, Sasuke would not use his chidori on me when ever I made a joke about him.

Chapter 3; No news is good news, bad news a snooze, and good news makes the day worthwhile!

I ascended up and over the little window and watched as the crack beneathe me closed up like an old wound. Meanwhile, the old man was launching many, many pointy things at my exposed position.  
Acting on instinct, I used a clone to throw myself out of the way while at the same time summoning yet more of them that I tossed at the Tsuchikage himself!  
Once they were within range, I fluxated my chakra a little to activate the explosions. Ya gotta love exploding clones, they're so damned useful.

On my descent, I sent half a dozen of my own exploding tags to be sure he'd gotten the message. Imagine my surprise when the smoke cleared and instead of a shriveled old man I found a titan?  
I'd heard of this jutsu that allowed him to temporarily grant himself more power. Guess he was finally getting serious then. Lucky for me that I'm not just a one trick pony.

"Rasenshuriken!" I threw the jutsu as hard as I could in his direction and watched, satisfied, when it caught his right arm. He would survive that one, but he'd be badly crippled and wouldn't survive the second blow.  
That, or I could count on him dying of blood loss. Whichever came first.

"That was a clever move, but I'm going to finish this!" He growled. I would never tell my enemies this, but when he slit my throat, I used a special jutsu I can only use once a week.  
Something only demons can do in order to escape death. An instantanious healing of all major wounds. A handy trick for someone to know, but damned if the time limit on it wasn't annoying as all get out.  
So I basically had only my cunning between me and his kunai.  
Good thing foxes are known for their cunning.

While I had been distracted with my inner monolouge, he had been flashing through the seals of another jutsu. I think it's time I added another element to this battle before I got burned.  
I wiped some blood from a kunai wound on my arm and began flashing through the seals for a summoning.  
"Alright big boy, see if you can handle this!" I stamped my hand on the ground and soon found myself riding the back of a very large three taled fox.  
He had nothing on Kyubi, but he was the size of a large bear, so he would do quite well under the circumstances.

"I've heard about your fox summons." The titan stated. "It will be interesting to see just what they can do." I smiled innocently at him before dispelling the genjutsu surrounding me.  
"You know you've been fighting a fox this whole time right?" I asked him coyly, wagging my tail in excitement. He froze when he saw the tail and ears but he quickly recovered.  
"So Loki, you hungry?" I asked my summons.  
"Sure." He answered. "After this fight, let's go out for some fish! I think this human might be a bit tough."  
"Eh, I guess I could pull a few strings." I conceded. "There's supposed to be some river nearby anyway."

Well, mister Titan didn't agree with being treated like he wasn't there, so he made himself known to us. Since he obviously had no door bell, he figured a giant boulder would do just fine.  
Needless to say, getting a giant rock to the face did not make my day.  
"You know that was kinda rude." I told him, nursing the egg knot on my forehead. "That hurt ya know!" Stupid thing to say in a fight to the death with a kage, but I was just plain pissed and I have always secretly enjoyed seeing how angry I could make my enemies.  
Annoyance is one handy gift to have, when used the right way.

Loki darted without warning and nearly suceded in pinning the elusive Tsuchikage. He was starting to look bad though. His arm had been bleeding a while now and I knew he questioned his chance of winning.  
"Come on Loki, let's finish this." I roared. He barked in excitement and pounced again, this time sucessfully knocking him down and keeping him down.  
I wasted no time in jumping down and slitting his throat and watching as the life faded from his eyes as he struggled for air.

The fight had been harder than the others thus far, but nothing like with Orochimaru. As much as I hate to admit it, the old bastard can put up one hell of a fight.  
Much more so then any other guy I've ever battled against anyway. I sealed the late Tsuchikage's head in a scroll and headed back to the camp. Loki dispelled himself somewhere along the way, leaving me with my thoughts.

For two years after my banishment, I wanted nothing more than to go back 'home'. But somewhere in my third year alone, I just stopped wishing for it and moved on.  
I grew to enjoy my missing nin life style. I fell in love and had a family. But now, here they were, practically begging me to come back. Did I want to anymore? Did I want to stay in the leaf village, and be a ninja there?  
Could I go back to the life I once had, or was it too late?

I hung my head sadly as I came to a realization. I no longer felt loyalty to that village. I don't even know why I'm here. Is it to protect Somma and Sora? Or could I not resist the temptation to see them all, just one last time?  
Because that realization, was I was never going to watch my baby grow up.  
One of these days, I was going to die.  
That's just the life of a shinobi.  
Or in this case, kunoichi.

Back at the camp, I was surprised to find almost everyone was talking about some new order that had gone out a week ago. Apparently before he'd come out to fight me, he had given one last order.  
It was a run on sight command for all for little ole me! Next to my picture were my stats, and underneath it were a few nicknames the iwa nins had come up for me.  
Amongst them bein: Foxfire, Crimson Flash, Swirling Death, Witch of the Leaf, Fanged Bitch, and my personal favorite, Fiery Vixen.  
They had gotten pretty creative with them to, nothing like Sharingan Kakashi, or Copy cat nin.

Now it's been three months, and the war is entering it's last days. The final battle has come, but that doesn't mean we're a shoo in to kick those bastards out of the land of fire.  
No, quite the opposite. Seems that Orochimaru has upgraded ever single above chunin nin with his little hickey of death. The curse mark has made their numbers nearly unbeatable by conventional means, and I can't be everywhere at once.  
Now, all of the forces we could spare have gathered for one last battle. It's been constant battles for me, one right after the other, and I'm tired.  
I won't be able to use the hiraishin for this one.  
But I don't care what happens, because my little boy is waiting for me.  
And I'm coming home to him.

"When will they get here?" I asked the patrol unit who had just returned, the only one. They had gotten back with superficial injuries, but the two other patrol units never made it back.  
"An hour, at least." He sighed, before heading to the infirmary. I had already told him he would not be participating in the upcoming battle unless things took a turn for the worst.  
"The fourth great shinobi war is coming to an end." I decided.

We prepped for battle, everyone wishing for a miracle. Though, I have the suspicion that to them, a miracle included me and the hiraishin.  
The reason I can not use that technique is because extened use is harmful to the body. When using the hiraishin, your basically going at the speed of light. And that is bad for the body because it has to change to light and back to matter in less than a second.  
This process puts a lot of strain on the body. After my many fights, I had to take a week off to recover before I could fight again.

An hour later, our forces were in position to take down the enemy, and it was time for the commander to give a pep talk. Well, the commander is me, so damnit.

"Alright." I sighed, turning to face my squadron. "This is it. I'm not sugarcoating it for you, I'm giving it to you straight, because this is what you need to hear. We're about to fly straight into the face of Hell. Orochimaru gave his soilders the curse mark, empowering them. These marks have a fatal weakness though. They feed off chakra. We need to try and draw the fight out, pick off who we can." Now for the peppy part.  
"Many of you were at that meeting called by Tsunade when I announced I was not rejoining the ranks." Several nods here. "I know some of you must have wondered why, well, I'll tell you. You see, for the first two years of my banishment, I wanted nothing more than to come back to the village. After being held by a couple criminal organizations though, I forgot what it was like for other people to depend on me."

By now she had their full, undevided attention. "You all know I have a near two year old son?" They nodded in answer. "When my old sensei, Kakashi, came and asked me to return, I was just relearning what that felt like. To have someone who depended on you for the simplest things. When this war is over, the first thing I'm doing is running to give my baby boy a hug and kiss." Now for the big surprise. "Now, you all know about my husband, Sora?" Nods, yep they knew him. "Well, Sora is not Somma's father." I caught one or two unmuffled gasps of surprise in the crowd. "Nope, you see, when Orochimaru had me as his prisoner, he decided to create a legacy. Somma is the result."

"Now I want you all to think back to about ten years ago." She prompted them. "Back when everyone was fixated on the idea that I was the Kyubi no Kitsune." I saw several guilty faces in the lot, they knew who they were. "Some call me the demon of the Leaf, and in truth, that's partly correct. You see, I've made a deal with a devil."  
They watched as I dispelled the genjutsu, revealing my foxy nature. "Some of you may have known, some of you may not have, but I once gave up a lot to protect that village. I'm a half demon, and my son, is a half demon. Any kids I have next will be half demons. Now, I got a question for you all."

"In all the time I've led you, have I acted like a demon?"

They didn't have time to ponder my words because the enemy had arrived by now and were getting antsy, wondering where we were probably.  
With my ears and tail out, I now had a slight advantage over my opponents. For one, the tail is like a second arm, meaning i can kill if it has a kunai. Secondly, my ears, eyes, and every thing else were greatly enhanced, meaning I got a senses boost.  
The fact I also get fangs and claws happen to be a nice perk.

I took down a few when I could, but mostly I kept my men from getting killed themselves. I couldn't save them all, but I could give them borrowed time at least.  
A few more seconds. A few more heart beats. A few more breaths. A few more scratches. A few more lung fulls of blood stinking air.  
That was all I could give them right now. Borrowed time.

As the fight progressed, our enemies began to tire, but so did we. We'd lost a few men, but they had lost more. A downside to feeling invulnerable, is that you protect yourself against fatal blows a lot less, making it easier to get in your guard and take you down.  
We may not have had that problem, but we still fell about as often as the other guys. Eventually it got to the point where I would need to do something if we were to win this never ending battle.

I managed to give myself a few seconds reprieve and began to catch my breath while making hand signs. This was a mass affect jutsu and part of a signal that I had arranged with the soilders before hand.  
The signal itself was really my KI, which I would let loose before performing the actual jutsu. I released it now and watched as my men began to retreat, leaving behind very confused Iwa and Sound shinobi.  
No sooner had the last man made it to the tree lines then I let loose my jutsu with an almighty roar.

"Demonic Style; Combustion no Jutsu!"

The entire clearing, and everything in it, vanished. All that was left was a giant crater about the size of a small village.  
I looked over the damage and found one or two enemy shinobi who had escaped the blast because they were out of range.  
By now my comrades had come out of hiding and were chopping down the few remaining.  
I leaned against a tree, my tail swishing gently behind me in time to an unheard song. My eyes were closed but my ears were swiveling from place to place, locking in on one sound before moving to the next.  
I caught several people discussing my behavior and comparing it to demons. Though most of their 'demons' were people who enjoyed killing, ei. Orochimaru for one.  
Have to admit, they've come a long way from presecuting a little girl.

That night when we were sitting around the camp fire eating, they all proposed a toast to me. "To Naru, our commander who has led us to victory! To the Fiery Vixen!"  
Their cheers had my ears ringing for a few minutes afterward but I barely noticed. I was a little ocupied with the warm, fuzzy feeling that had grown in my chest. I knew that feeling, the feeling of being wanted, appreciated even.  
I do so love that feeling.

We made our way back to the village and were greeted by the entire population. Somehow, I just knew that showing up with my ears and tail showing would be a bad idea, so I had them hid.  
Although, that didn't stop my little boy running through the crowd to get to me while everyone watched. To most it would seem he only recognized his mommy. I knew however, that he had recognized my scent, rather then my form.  
When he reached me, I bent down and threw him up in the air. When he came down I kissed his forehead and almost broke his spine giving him the first hug in four months.  
"Did you miss mama?" I asked him.

Now it's been a week since our victorious return and the war's end. I was sitting in the rocking chair in the living room thinking what to do next.  
"So, Naru?" Sora started, blushing like on our first date. "What do you want to do next?"  
I leaned my head back against the head rest and thought about it for a while. I didn't hate the village. And if I left I would be a missing nin again, meaning no retiring.  
But staying here, I would have to face so many more troubles. Somma's parentage, my heritage, my new looks, and all that other good stuff.

"Sora, do you like it here?" I finally asked. I was too confused to make a decent decision so I decided to refer to my cool headed husband for his opinion.  
"Well, I like that I can get supplies in short manner." He said, thinking of the markets practically out his door. "But I miss my herb garden and I want a place where Somma can play, like we had back at our cottage."  
Naru hmmed in response, thinking about how she'd like Somma to go to the academy.  
"I'd like to stay." I suddenly stated. "But I would like to actually own my own house, with a yard and place for a garden. I want a safe place for Somma to grow up in, with friends nearby."  
It seemed the obvious decision, now I thought of it.

Before long, I was holding Somma's hand as we casually made our way to the hokage tower. My decision was made and personally I thought it was a nice compromise.  
I would stay here, even wear a leaf headband if they insisted, and would even send Somma to the academy when he got older, but in return they would let me leave when I wished, no questions asked, without declaring me a missing nin.  
If I wanted to retire later, no prob. I would still be called on in times of need of course, and would do some missions every now and again to pay for bills and things, but over all, I could lead a very relaxing life.

"Mama, are we going to see Tsunade=baachan?" He'd learned a lot of new words while I'd been gone. It made me feel bad knowing I'd been gone for so long.  
"Yeah." I answered. "Somma, do you like it here in the Leaf?" He tilted his head and his brow scrunched up rather cutely like he was doing some heavy thinking. Or maybe he needed to use the bathroom, sometimes it's hard to tell.  
"I like it here!" He finally decided. "But I miss pwaying outside and the pwetty gaden daddy had."  
"I miss it to baby." I assured him. "If my idea works, we can get you a nice place to play and a place for daddy to grow his plants all day if he wants to."

I saw several little kids wave at Somma on our walk and I gave a small smile to them all in turn. It was nice to know my son had friends now.  
We made it to Tsunade-baachan's office but I hesitated outside the door. I felt like I was going back on my word and I didn't like that.  
However, when one looked at it...it wasn't really breaking my word, was it? After all, I technically wouldn't be an active ninja of the village.

"Gaki are you gonna stand out there all day?" I jumped when I heard her yelling at me from the other side. Mentally I pouted because she knew I was there.  
I walked inside cautiously. It wouldn't be the first time she had thrown furniture at me after all, and I wanted this day to end on a good note.  
She was standing with one foot on her desk about to throw her chair when she saw Somma. "Aw damn it." She cursed, putting the seat back down. "Your lucky you brought the kid with you."  
I sighed in relief and thanked my forethought for bringing Somma. "Tsunade can you please not curse in front of my son?" I asked her, raising a single brow.

After telling her and Shizune my idea, they practically begged me to take my dad's old compound. Of course, I made it clear that I was leaving for a week or so to get things from my old house first.  
I carried a now sleeping Somma back to the apartment and told Sora of the decision to move to my father's land.  
"Well then, what are we still doing here?" He asked me, starting to pack up a few essentials.  
We had everything moved before long and I began making plans to leave in the morning. I was allowed to, but someone had to accompany me.  
I wasn't sure who, but I just hoped it wasn't that Sai guy. He irked me for some reason.

~~~LINE~~~  
LC; Woo! Another chappie completo!  
Naruto; You should be doing homework ya know.  
LC; But this is more fun! Besides, I got...until tommorrow?  
Sasuke; You procrastinated for a week.  
LC;...SHIT! I'm dead!  
Naruto; Not yet your not, just get off and do some real work.  
LC;...But it's so boring!


	4. Author Note

This is only an Author Note.

I regret to inform my faithful readers that I plan to rewrite this fic.  
It has become so horrid that I can't bear to write another chapter like these past ones!  
So I will eventually rewrite it completely.  
I hope you can all forgive me and wait paitently for The Invizible Protector, Naru Uzumaki again.  
Thank you and I apologize once more, but it must be done. 


End file.
